New Balkh governor barred from talking to media

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): The newly-appointed governor for northern Balkh province, Eng. Daud, was not allowed on Sunday to speak to media at the airport in the provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif, before returning to Kabul.

Daud, who traveled to Mazar-i-Sharif five days ago to attend his father’s funeral ceremony, returned to Kabul on Sunday.

He was expected to talk to journalists at the Balkh airport today, but sources close to the governor said he was not allowed despite reporters had been invited to the airport.

Zamir Qayumi, secretary of Daud, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the governor was expected to talk to media at the Jalaluddin Balkhi Airport today.

Therefore all media outlets were invited to come to the airport, he said. But Balkh people’s representative in the Wolesi Jirga, Asadullah Sharifi, and the airport’s security chief, Mohammad Khan, did not allow the governor to talk to reporters.

Qayumi said the motive behind not allowing the governor to speak to the media was to weaken his morale in the public.

However, the airport security chief rejected the claim, saying the new governor’s plan of talking to media had not been coordinated with him. “It is a lie, we do not prevent anyone,” he said.

Journalists said they were invited to the airport at 1pm, but they were not allowed to enter until 2:30pm.

Javid Wak, a reporter with Shamshad TV channel, told Pajhwok that he was invited by the new governor’s secretary to the airport.

He said journalists from many media outlets had come to the airport but they were not allowed to enter there.

He said Eng. Daud entered the airport around 2pm and they were informed half an hour later that the governor was not allowed to speak to the media.